Cantref takeover handled appropriately, says top Welsh Government official

John Howells, director of housing and regeneration for the Welsh Government, made the comments during the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) last evidence session of its inquiry into the regulation of housing associations.

In the previous session last week, Tai Ceredigion boss Steve Jones said the process behind Wales & West’s takeover of Tai Cantref had lacked transparency.

He claimed that having been in talks with the regulator about a potential merger with Tai Cantref, Tai Ceredigion was given just seven days to submit its bid and received no feedback explaining why it was unsuccessful.

Labour Assembly member Lee Waters, who sits on the PAC, asked Mr Howells: “Did you feel that you intervened too much or intervened too little in that case, given that it wasn’t a happy outcome?”

Mr Howells replied: “I’ve thought about that long and hard, we thought about that long and hard before intervening.

“I’m happy that we took an appropriate judgement based on the evidence presented to us, which was of concern – significant concern, against a backdrop of earlier concerns.”

He added that new frameworks introduced in January had strengthened the regulator’s ability to avoid a similar situation in future, but said “we are dependent on boards being prepared to share”.

Ian Williams, deputy director of sector development at the Welsh Government, who was appearing alongside Mr Howells, said it was important to give the new system time to prove its worth.

He said: “I would like to see how this plays out over 12 months before we throw it away and try something else.”

The PAC will now deliberate on the evidence heard in the inquiry, with its findings expected to be published in May.